The feasibility and impact of cardiovascular absolute risk assessment in Australian general practice

Project Coordinator

Elizabeth Denney-Wilson

Chief Investigators

Mark Harris, Nick Zwar, Terence Campbell, Aushka Patel, Sanjyot Vagholkar, Qing Wan, Suzanne Mckenzie, Christine Walker

Associate Investigators

Upali Jayasinghe

Other Team Members

Iqbal Hasan, Heike Shutze

Rationale

Cardiovascular absolute risk (CVAR) is the probability of developing a cardiovascular event over a given time period, (usually over 5 or 10 years). Although measurement is recommended in most guidelines, its implementation in Australian general practice is poor. There has been little work on the impact and effectiveness of CVAR assessment in general practice.

Aims

To investigate not only the feasibility of CVAR implementation in Australian general practices but also the impact of CVAR assessment and management on: general practice clinical processes, patient health risk behaviour, the number of new cases of cardiovascular disease diagnosed by GPs, and patient care including lifestyle interventions and the prescribing of antihypertesive & lipid lowering drugs.

Design and Method

This study is a cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT). This study is being conducted in the general practice setting, involving general practitioners (GPs), other practice staff and patients aged 40-69 without existing CVD. A total of 32 practices will be recruited including a mix of solo, medium and large practices. Over 1,000 patients have been recruited. GPs received training and practice visits. Patients are asked to attend their GP for health check on two occasions, 12 months apart which will include a cardiovascular risk assessment.